Events

Undertaker’s Museum

Vienna’s Undertakers Museum

The Vienna Undertakers Museum is proof that the living have always had a fascination with death. Austrians enjoy a connection to deep German roots for their healthy obsession with death and all the burial traditions that accompany their beliefs about it. This museum helps pays tribute to those who have passed on.

Being Remembered

Death involves many unknowns. The biggest concern that most people have is the desire to be remembered. During the height of the Austrian Empire, this urge to be remember was strong and people were willing to pay a high price to live on in memory. People would save money for their funeral service and opt to have their body embalmed, so that they would look like a beautiful corpse. Having a grand sendoff was what many considered to show that you had a meaningful life.

Funeral Business

This fascination with death continued during the 1900s when there were about 80 Austrian funeral companies competing for business. There were even over 50 different cemeteries in Vienna alone. However, in 1951 Bestattung Wien was named the only funeral company in the entire city and it was also referred to as the Undertaking Service of Vienna. The Undertakers Museum, connected to this undertaking service, documents all of the history tied to Viennese death.

What Can You Find at the Undertakers Museum?

At the Undertakers Museum you can explore the topic and history of death from all angles. There are about 600 different artifacts that you can take a look at. At this museum you have the chance to view elaborate uniforms and regalia once worn by pallbearers. You can also take a closer look at hearses, wreathes, sashes and many other artifacts that are directly tied to funeral and burial rituals and traditions.

Death is always on display at this historic museum. To learn more, click here.